Expanding Boundaries of Understanding? The Mental Maps of Transnational Television Journalism

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Grieves - Expanding Boundaries
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covered the story as well, but towards the end of those newscasts, and in briefer fashion: 2
minutes and 1:40 minutes total, respectively. The Sweden story can be considered important to
Europe as a whole, more so than to one particular national sphere, where the impact is likely to
be perceived as relatively limited.
9. Concluding thoughts
Is Arte’s sustained attention to a story that seems marginal by national journalistic
standards evidence of a European journalistic outlook? Based on the evidence of this study, one
might argue that it represents a clear step in that direction. Feldmann concluded that Arte’s
newscast covered more “European aspects” in greater detail than national German television
news offerings, and suggested that the newscast could be accorded “a key role in the constitution
of a European public sphere” (2007, 95). The findings of this present study, whose scope
included the French side as well, lend support to the notion that Arte’s journalistic outlook is
more pan-European, not merely the melding of the French and German national perspectives.
Whether Arte’s modest audience numbers form a practical basis in addition to a theoretical basis
for a transnational public sphere is less clear, however.
As for the emergence of what Berglez (2007) terms a “global news style,” the answers
also appear less clear-cut. Generally, the newscast content analyzed here suggests that
Tagesschau and 20 heures primarily related news stories and corresponding geographies back to
the national frame of reference of the domestic audience, as one might expect. There were some
exceptions to this, however, as other journalistic values seemed to intervene: compelling video,
compelling characters, or intrinsic political importance of events, for example. Arte Journal

Authors: Grieves, Kevin.

Page 23 of 34

Grieves - Expanding Boundaries

23

covered the story as well, but towards the end of those newscasts, and in briefer fashion: 2

minutes and 1:40 minutes total, respectively. The Sweden story can be considered important to

Europe as a whole, more so than to one particular national sphere, where the impact is likely to

be perceived as relatively limited.

9. Concluding thoughts

Is Arte’s sustained attention to a story that seems marginal by national journalistic

standards evidence of a European journalistic outlook? Based on the evidence of this study, one

might argue that it represents a clear step in that direction. Feldmann concluded that Arte’s

newscast covered more “European aspects” in greater detail than national German television

news offerings, and suggested that the newscast could be accorded “a key role in the constitution

of a European public sphere” (2007, 95). The findings of this present study, whose scope

included the French side as well, lend support to the notion that Arte’s journalistic outlook is

more pan-European, not merely the melding of the French and German national perspectives.

Whether Arte’s modest audience numbers form a practical basis in addition to a theoretical basis

for a transnational public sphere is less clear, however.

As for the emergence of what Berglez (2007) terms a “global news style,” the answers

also appear less clear-cut. Generally, the newscast content analyzed here suggests that

Tagesschau and 20 heures primarily related news stories and corresponding geographies back to

the national frame of reference of the domestic audience, as one might expect. There were some

exceptions to this, however, as other journalistic values seemed to intervene: compelling video,

compelling characters, or intrinsic political importance of events, for example. Arte Journal